A. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to the packaging and serving of foods and beverages in multiple use containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to the packaging and serving of foods that have a portion which is eaten and a portion which is refuse. Even more particularly the present invention relates to the packaging and serving of such foods in a single container that has an area which stores the uneaten food and an area which can be used for a beverage and/or to receive the refuse portion of the food.
B. Background
Many people enjoy eating snack type foods while watching or participating in another activity, including watching sporting events such as a baseball, basketball, football and soccer games or horse and automobile racing, watching a movie or television, driving or riding in a vehicle, or just relaxing by the pool or on the beach. Many of these snack types of foods have a portion which is eaten by the consumer and a refuse portion which is not eaten and must be disposed of by the consumer. Hereinafter, such types of foods are collectively referred to as “food products” and the refuse portion is collectively referred to as “food-related refuse” or “refuse”. Examples of such food products include nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, olives and cherries. The food-related refuse associated with these food products include shells and seeds. With regard to these and related food products, the consumer must either first break open the shell to get to the consumable inner portion of the food product, as with nuts and sunflower seeds for example, or eat through the food product to the seed at the center thereof, as with olives and cherries for example. As well known to those familiar with these food products, whether they enjoy eating them or they have to clean up after others who enjoy eating the food products, the primary negative aspect of these types of food products is that the food-related refuse can result in a significant amount of debris.
Although sunflower seeds and other types of food products are occasionally provided in plastic cups and cardboard boxes, packaging for the food products typically comprises a quantity of individual items of the food product packaged in a plastic bag-type of packaging or placed in a paper or paper-like sack. The consumer usually removes one or more of the individual food products from the package for consumption. Once the consumer removes the outer shell or eats the consumable portion, he or she is left with the food-related refuse for disposal. If the consumer is eating the food product at home, he or she generally has a trash can or other trash receptacle readily available, meaning at or near the person's location, for receiving the food-related refuse. However, if the consumer is eating the food products at a sporting event or is outside of the home, such trash receptacles are not usually readily available. As a result, the consumer of food products typically disposes the food-related refuse in a manner that is most convenient to him or her. While some people are diligent about placing the food-related refuse into a container of some type that can then be transferred to a trash receptacle, many people tend to just dispose the refuse on the ground near where they are sitting or standing. This is particularly true of the small, shelled food products such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and nuts. Some of these, particularly the sunflower and pumpkin seed products, tend to be spit out by the consumer after he or she has separated the shell from the edible portion in his or her mouth. As many people have seen, the consumption of food products can result in a large amount of food-related refuse laying on the ground, floor or other surface around the person eating the food products. For instance, it is not an uncommon sight at a baseball game to see a rather larger pile of sunflower seed shells at the feet of a fan or player at the end of the game.
One of the problems with the above food products is that they are usually packaged and served to the consumer in a single container that holds the uneaten food product with, generally, no real concern given to where the person is supposed to dispose of the naturally occurring food-related refuse. As a result, the consumer is typically left to fend for himself or herself with regards to disposal of the food-related refuse. Those persons who do not choose to drop or spit out the refuse onto the ground generally obtain an empty cup, can, bag or sack in which to dispose of the food-related refuse. In fact, it is not uncommon for such a person to grab an empty soda or beer cup or can, whether it is theirs or not, to be able to drop or spit the refuse into for later disposal. Use of cups, cans or the like that were previously utilized for drinks, particularly if they belong to others and/or are not completely empty, can create other mess, time-consuming and hygiene issues.
One example of a product that is the result of some thought into the consumer's need to dispose of the food-related refuse when consuming food products is the David® sunflower seed “Travel Cup” product by ConAgra Foods, Inc. This product packaging comprises a bag of sunflower seeds disposed inside a plastic cup. The intent appears to be that someone removes the bag of seeds from the plastic cup and then spits or otherwise disposes the food-related refuse inside the cup (hence the Spit Responsibly™ slogan). Although the product does provide the consumer with a readily available cup for disposal of the refuse, thus eliminating the need to seek out a cup, the product does require the consumer to handle and manipulate two separate containers, one containing sunflower seeds and one for the refuse, while simultaneously retrieving seeds from the bag and disposing them (presumably preferably by spitting) into the cup. The cup and its contents are then disposed of or the cup is emptied and then cleaned for reuse.
Over the years, multiple use containers have been developed to package and serve food, beverage or other items to the consumer. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,097 to Grigoryan discloses a food cup comprising an elongated cardboard outer cylinder in which is disposed, at the lower end thereof, an inner cylinder open at both ends. A mouth opens in the lower part of the outer container and food passes from the inner container past teeth which limit the flow of food. A waste cup is placed inside the upper part of the outer container. In use, the waster cup moves down the outer container chamber as food is removed through the mouth and waste is placed in the waste cup. A beverage cup can be placed in the top cover of the outer container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,671 to Nedblake, Jr. describes a combination container comprising a first container having a beverage and a second container, at the base of the first container, having an edible solid. A band of heat-shrunk material surrounds the containers on either side of where they abut for coupling the two containers together. U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,168 to Fahey describes a dual compartment beverage container for dispensing a single serving of beverage and snack food. The container wall is configured to define two product containment regions, a recess for receiving a cartridge containing food and a compartment for containing a beverage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,868 to Soyak, et al. describes a container for liquid and tobacco products that is configured as a bottle for the liquid with a recess area disposed in the bottle and open at the bottom to receive cigars. A seal closes the opening to keep the cigars fresh and humidified.
Except for the patent to Grigoryan, none of the foregoing prior art devices provides a food container suitable for use with a food product having a food-related refuse associated therewith. The food cup of Grigoryan appears to be somewhat inconvenient for use in most situations where the user would desire to consume food products. What is needed, therefore, is an improved food container that packages a food product for serving to the consumer and provides the consumer an easy to use, convenient disposal area for receiving the food-related refuse. The preferred food container will have an area that stores the food product for consumption, a controllable opening configured to selectively dispense a portion of the food product from the container and an area that easily and conveniently receives the food-related refuse. Preferably, the food container is configured so the user does not have to hold and manipulate multiple packages while he or she retrieves food product from the container and disposes the food-related refuse therein. The preferred food container will be made out of materials that results in a lightweight, versatile and relatively inexpensive to manufacture packaging system that is readily disposable and recyclable/biodegradable.